Deviate have a new frame out today, looks very nice. Good geo numbers too for an aggressive enduro machine, and proper reach numbers in the XL size (64.3 HA, 78 SA, 520 reach, 450 seatpost).
£3600 with an ohlins ttx m.2, £3k frame only.
If I wasn't already pretty set on a Geometron G1 and wanted to go alloy for longevity, I'd be very tempted by this.
4 years into Deviate ownership for me, no problems, Ben and Chris (and now a bigger team I think) have always been great to deal with.
I’d buy one if I didn’t have a Guide.
Looks cool but I'd rather have a G1.
If I wasn’t already pretty set on a Geometron G1
Looks cool but I’d rather have a G1.
If I didn't already have a G15 I'd have my order in already for a Claymore. OK, I'm not exactly impartial (local company, knowing Ben etc) but the geometry is very appealing without being as out there as my Geometron. Certainly the most appealing bike of it's type to me at the moment, except for a G1.
And as far as painted bikes go it looks the part!
The red is lush, I'll admit. Sometimes less choice is better, paint wise 😁
It's complete overkill for my local riding but perfect the lakes/Scottish rowdy stuff.
Would be interesting to have a test ride. I had a short spin on a Kavenz high pivot bike which was, ahem, an acquired taste
I've resisted a proper testride on a Deviate so far to protect my wallet. There's a 150mm Highlander in my riding group but being a size large and me being a lanky git I've not done more than a brief bounce around on it.
That’s a fine looking machine, almost identical geo and price as the new Hope HB916. Probably ride similar and similar weight. Seems to be right in the money.
I've had my 150mm Highlander for nearly 2 years, just done its first full bearing change and updated to the new "INA" blue seals and it feels like butter, the suspension feels totally unbelievable. For me I think the Highlander feels like a lot of bike, so heaven knows what the Claymore must feel like, its going to take some hefty terrain to get it excited.
Conner Fearon placed 18th at the Fort William DH on a high pivot bike with less rear travel,...
That green looks almost black in dull light, really nice.
Vid from Mctrail rider & Ben from Deviate
I’ve had a Highlander for a year now and ridden all manner of gnarly Scottish terrain and never once thought “I wish I had more bike”.
I do have a 170mm Fox 38 on the front of mine and a coil shock on the rear.
But despite this I still find myself wondering and pondering….
Stop it brain!
I’ve ‘had’ to turn my (160mm) Guide into a full on DH weapon (deciding between 170, 180 and 190mm for the DC fork) to differentiate it from my 140mm Highlander. They really do feel like they have 20mm more travel over rough stuff.
I know I sound like a fanboy, but whatevs, they’re brilliant.
Oooooh like in that
So the sticker says ‘Kustom constructed in Kinbuck’. Does that mean it’s made there, or something else?
Shame they went to internal hose routing for the rear brake too, highlander is external.
Yeah, that hose routing is pointless, just for six inches of seatstay.
tomhoward
Full MemberSo the sticker says ‘Kustom constructed in Kinbuck’. Does that mean it’s made there, or something else?
Looks like they’ve moved out of their Stirling HQ/warehouse/place. Still think they’re made in the East though (no, not Fife) as they’d make a song and dance about moving production to Scotland
Edit: site still says you can get demo bikes from the Stirling place, so no idea what’s the story with the 2 places
McTrail Rider on YouTube was demoing one in a recent video.
They’ve definitely moved to Kinbuck 100%. The Stirling unit is now occupied only by The Bike Works, where previously (until January) they shared the unit.
They’ve definitely moved to Kinbuck 100%.
They’ve moved the manufacturing there?? Or is ‘constructed’ more ‘assembled’?
Yeah it's assembled in Kinbuck.
Really want to test ride one, they are only 5 mins up the road, but I'm scared of the temptation it will likely produce.
I suspect you could still arrange to pick one up from Iain at Bike Works for a test ride.
a11y
Full MemberThey’ve definitely moved to Kinbuck 100%. The Stirling unit is now occupied only by The Bike Works, where previously (until January) they shared the unit
That makes sense, must be using The Bike Works for the demo bikes
Shame they went to internal hose routing for the rear brake too, highlander is external.
Oh good spot, that is a bit disappointing. Having just had the full bike apart and rear triangle off for the bearing change this would also mean a brake bleed on the Claymore now...
I was out at the unit in Kinbuck the other week as I needed help getting the linkage apart(was some franken-linkage with older parts,) They are still getting the place kitted up with workbenches,presses for assembling but they've fully moved there as the place in Stirling was too small.
I think it looks pretty good. Slightly less aggressive Dreadnought, but with a bit more travel in the back.
As a Dreadnought owner, they definitely suit a certain style of riding/rider - it’s not something I would buy without trying, for sure.
As a Dreadnought owner, they definitely suit a certain style of riding/rider – it’s not something I would buy without trying, for sure.
@HobNob - just out of interest, why do you say that? what kind of riding/rider does it suit?
Do you mean specifically because of the idler? I've not read a lot about idler bikes, except that it removes pedal kick back, makes things smoother, but introduces drag for pedalling?
Asking for a friend. Not interested at all. nope. not me...
watching.......
very nice and very intrigued by this one
That's a very good-looking bike, easily the best-looking HP bike out there.
I'm kind-of glad I fall squarely between sizes, as it'd be a contender for next big bike otherwise.
Damn that bike looks good in red with the fox kit.
The weird angle between fork and seat tube outs me off slightly, but it looks probably the best of all the larger trail bikes that are around right now.
Really want to test ride one, they are only 5 mins up the road, but I’m scared of the temptation it will likely produce.
Ahh damn, I'll be a hour away in a few weeks when I'm saying in Aberfeldy.
Must resist.
Ahh damn, I’ll be a hour away in a few weeks when I’m saying in Aberfeldy.
And from Kinbuck you can ride into the Ochils for a proper test....
@HobNob – just out of interest, why do you say that? what kind of riding/rider does it suit?
Predominately due to the (very, at least in case of the Dreadnought) rearward axle path & the way the suspension works. They seem to do the opposite of what I was used to before, on fast chunky sections, most bikes I’ve ridden with a kind of ‘race’ setup are choppy & skip over the top of stuff whereas this just wants to straight up smash through it. It holds it’s speed like nothing I’ve ridden before.
This may not be quite so pronounced, as the stays are quite a bit shorter & it’s less of a rearward axle path (more of a medium high pivot idler bike really), would be fun to compare them though.
If you want to pop & boost of everything on the trail, then it’s probably not the suspension system for you - it does need a bit more foresight & planning to ride that way & such like manualling is a way more pronounced effort. But, what you lose, you gain elsewhere.
Regarding the idler - not really any more drag, a smidge of extra drivetrain noise (more when it’s sh*tty out). I’m sure I read a test review which concluded on a like for like climb it was a very negligible difference. I noticed more drag from the lower chain guide (and noise), which I have swapped out now.
Hi guys, Just going to address some of your questions here:
- Just to clarify. Our frames are made in SEA, however, we receive all the raw parts into our Kinbuck (near Stirling) HQ and all the final QC and assembly is done here. Those stickers are put onto our full builds - which are all custom - and done in Kinbuck as well by one of our bike mechanics. Apologies, we don't mean to mislead that our frames are made in the UK - although this is something we'd love to do one day. Unfortunately, we don't have a multi-million pound component business to support this project like Hope do, and hats off to them for bringing production to the UK.
- Again clarifying - we are no longer in Springkerse, Stirling - where The Bike Works is, but now have our own dedicated unit in Kinbuck - it's a few minutes from Stirling, near Dunblane. The correct address is on our website. Demo bikes are available from here, and not our old unit in Springkerse (aka The Bike Works). You can absolutely ride Dumyat and all the Bridge of Allan trails straight from the HQ here.
- You won't feel pedal drag on the idler. I can't comment on other brands HPP designs - but on a Deviate, we've worked super hard to create a fully sealed idler unit with negligible drag.
- Not sure we agree the Claymore is less aggressive than the Dreadnought (or another "super" enduro bike - yes that's a category I'm told - sorry) - saying that the final geo of the Claymore was set a long time before the Dreadnought came along and we're not comparing the Claymore to anything else specifically. We simply set the geo after lots of testing and prototypes and ended up with geo that suited the end goal of the Claymore. We think we've succeeded and we'd invite anyone curious to demo one! It's important to note the Claymore isn't just designed to be a plough and pray bike... speed on modern enduro tracks requires agility AND stability - so the angles reflect this.
- I think anyone curious will be surprised with just how playful the Claymore can be. Yes, the HPP has a certain feel and it tracks the ground and carries speed super well - in our view this just means you have the mental bandwidth to concentrate on new creative lines. Again, we think demo'ing the bike will make this very clear to anyone curious.
Any other questions I'll be here all day 🙂
Ben
We simply set the geo after lots of testing and prototypes and ended up with geo that suited the end goal of the Claymore
I think you have absolutely nailed the geometry with this. I went from a geometron to a custom geometry (my own) Starling with almost this exact geometry in 2018. Its perfect, just long enough and just slack enough, equally at home at an enduro race as an all day mountain epic. Hope have come to almost exactly the same geometric conclusions as well, did you both steal my 2018 design?!!
I think you also made one of the best looking bikes I have seen in years and for a rider like me that lives for big mountain days in the Lake District and Highlands, that McTrail Rider video absolutely nails it. Great work.
